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Farseer Aknug Stormrider
Aknug Stormrider is an orcish farseer and former leader of the Horde warband "The Thunderfist" , until Mograh Ragefury , former warrior (and Aknug's own apprentice) defeated him in a Mak'gora for the leadership of the warband and took his title and rank. Spiritual and gentlehearted yet with a volatile temper, he is a natural mediator that attempts to use his strenght to inspire his allies into following the values of Thrall's Horde, though this isn't always a winning situation. After a nearly two full-moons-long pilgrimage to Nagrand, meeting with old personalities and friends and making peace with the remaining spirits of Oshu'gun, Aknug has hesitantly returned to Orgrimmar. Tested by the remaining elder farseers within Grommash Hold for his service in the Thunderfist (albeit stripped of rank), Aknug has claimed his place among the most experienced of the Horde shamans, becoming a Farseer himself. Appearance While coming across as a massive towering wall of muscle for non-orcs, Aknug is surprisingly thin and lean for his tall height; while built, he seems too slender for a regular front-line brawler, and is quickly losing weight. His skin is a subdued, yellowish tinted green rather than the usual more vibrant shades, yet his eyes are an intimidating demon-touched red, occasionally with white warpaint surrounding the left one in part of the Horde sigil. His mane is an unruly flame-colored mess, usually braided with feathers and beads embedded and which joins together with his bushy beard to give him an appearance almost similar to a Barrens prowler. Covering a great part of his back, upper arms, and part of his torso, are faded black tattoos; the one in his back representing a large stone circle in stylized tribal etchings, with the orcish runes for the elements taking their respective positions along the circle, with simply drawn monoliths surrounding it. He wears mostly leather, fur and wood, with the only pieces of metal usually on his person being his weapons. Aknug has also been known to don a brown bear mask during battle or in official appearances. Those who have bore witness to seeing Aknug as a ghost wolf recall him as a large bluish white see-through specter with an exceptionally fuzzy mane. Personality Relaxed and wise (or at least attempting to be). Aknug is an uncharacteristically peaceful and idealistic Orc, preferring diplomacy over battle and often choosing to play as the middle ground. He highly values honor, and laments the taking of life unless said life is corrupt (IE. Burning Legion, undead, warlocks). While loyal to the Horde, he is a rarity amongst his peers, specially considering his role in the Thunderfist; despite the high rank he held in the warband he doesn't seem to bear any specific ill-will towards Alliance races. While distrustful, he is unlikely to actively hunt down the Alliance unless he or his people at large are wronged first, or a threat is posed. It was the actions undertaken by the humans in Southern Barrens and Camp Taurajo that finally sprung him to action. A follower of Thrall and Durotan's philosophy, both due to the impression the former left on him during the internment camps and the harsh training his mentor gave him in Kalimdor. The naming of Garrosh as new Warchief didn't please him, but he respects his military prowess that surpasses that of his predecessor despite his disagreement with several of the actions his troops have undertaken. Aknug highly respects Trolls and Tauren, yet distrusts Forsaken, seeing them as dishonorable scheming little rats with only a few worthy exceptions . The same is thought of Death Knights. He likewise dislikes Goblins for the ruin they bring to the spirits of the land wherever they settle, and blood elves are met with a neutral outlook. Despite his laid back behavior, Aknug has a noticeably volatile temper. He is quick to flare up when faced with disrespect towards him or towards his men and/or disobedience when an order is issued. He is also prone to bouts of blinding fury when a situation gets out of his control, or when an enemy (or his own men) act dishonorably. While he attempts to keep a cool and calculating head in battle, provoking him into a rage to take advantage over him is not unheard of. Backstory Early history Aknug was born on Draenor shortly before the start of the First War on Azeroth, child of Rhukara, a disgraced orcish woman of unknown origins (rumored to have been a traitorous Warsong) and sired by one of the Burning Blade, along with another sibling whose name or face he can't recall anymore. Although he doesn't have clear memories of most of his childhood due to the aging ritual he was forced through, he affectionately remembers his mother's gentle behavior, his games with her and his mysterious sibling, her constant avoiding of the other orcs even as she was sent into Azeroth as a grunt. Young Aknug was fitful and prone to bouts of anger; however, his mother knowlingly sheltered him from most of the war and its consequences; he grew without the ability to accept death or an excessive lust to kill. He doesn't recall if he ever met his father due to the partially erased memories caused by the ritual, but does remember the nervous reactions from his mother when ever asked about him. Robbery of Innocence By age seven, Aknug had grown to be almost an adult human male's size. Large, but not impressively so for an orc, very much still a child in behavior. It was then when disaster struck. It was a raid of human knights arriving to the swamps that ended Rhukara's life; fortunately for them, for if she had time to warn the grunts of the incoming threat their attempt may have ended in another way. Their kill was surprisingly humane, sparing the kid's life; when the Warsong arrived at the scene, they only found the young orc whelp weeping and grabbing at his mother, the woman on the ground, and the other pup gone from the area. Unwilling to deal with and raise an orphaned, crying brat, the grunts and warriors in the area did what in their mind was the best solution; grab the pup and hand him to the nearest warlock. As with many other orcish children, Aknug was forcibly, artificially aged to a young adult to provide more warriors for the Horde. Being ripped out of his mother's comfort to a hostile world and transformed in such a short period of time permanently and painfully scarred his mind, the process creating huge gaps in his memories and distorting his behavior to suit his new age and the 'current necessities'. Outfitted then with a rusty axe and standard issue armor and clothing, the confused, heartbroken, suddenly vicious and bloodlust-sick new grunt was thrown into the ranks of the Horde to serve in what remained of the First War, and then the Second. Aknug participated in several key operations of the Horde, slaying foe and innocent alike, athough despite some remarkable skill with his axe he didn't stand out enough to be granted a greater rank. Despite the odds he managed to keep himself alive as a grunt until the end of the second war, even after being used as cannon fodder on more than one occasion. The Camps Orgrim Doomhammer was defeated, and so was the Horde, and the Alliance of Lordaeron started hunting down the remaining orcs, building the internment camps to keep the vicious beasts under control. Aknug and a small group of grunts managed to avoid capture for the first years of the camps; travelling north and hiding themselves in the swamps and forests, but eventually Alliance knights found their tracks and started picking them off, one by one. Aknug was eventually separated from the squad, starving and weak. By now, the demonic bloodlust was starting to fade, if only slighty. Aknug and other orcs were starting to become vaguely aware of their past actions nagging at the back of their conscience, albeit keeping themselves from just killing everything in sight proved difficult. Still, he managed to contain himself when he accidentally stumbled upon a young boy and girl fishing together. Scared, the boy tentatively tried to feed the orc some of the fish he had captured; the starved grunt didn't complain. The two curious kids decided to keep the strange monstrous 'pet' a secret, and though Aknug made to flee the area before more humans arrived, they managed to stop the weak orc and convince him (in common, no less) that they'd protect him. The debilitated orc reluctantly obliged, expecting swift death at the hands of the humans' guardians. For approximately three months the human boy and girl, whose names are now lost, met the lost grunt at the river and fed him, eventually nursing him back to health. Aknug grew attached to the two, and they occasionally began teaching him words of common, though the orc wasn't exactly eager about learning a 'weak tongue'. The orc slowly started to regain his mind with their help. That is, until a desesperate bandit kidnapped them as they were headed to meet him one day. Aknug managed to track the man down, eventually finding him and chopping him into tiny pieces in his bloodlust. Unfortunately, that didn't help matters much when some knights appeared for the exact same reason he did; they saw him, drenched in blood, next to the chopped up corpse of a man. Only the screams of the kids stopped them, leaving the orc almost dead. The paladins whisked Aknug off to the internment camps, where he was put to work as soon as he recovered; not being hit by the Lethargy as strongly as other orcs due to not having directly consumed Mannoroth's blood. As time passed, the paladins started leaving and the cruelty of the guards increased, who started abusing their prisoners, treating them as cattle. Aknug, like other prisoners, slowly started learning common from the guards of the prison, though he had extra-help when one of the knights decided to approach him. It turned out that this knight was the father of the boy he had befriended, and who was given the complete story of what happened. Letting Aknug go would be treasonous, but the man decided to repay Aknug by trying to make his stay as comfortable as possible even as Aknug and the rest of his race started to regain their minds and to sink into species-wide sorrow. Eventually though, this one paladin also left, and slowly, Aknug's will to live died too. Ten years he spent in the camps as a slave, without the courage and will to escape. Spirit Reborn With the passing years, Aknug's already almost nonexistent self-respect and passion dwindled, leaving a hollowed husk of what was already a shriveled shell of a man, the remains of the child who was broken by the warlock magics. The loneliness, menial tasks and absence of the bloodlust also gave him something he hadn't had before; time to think. And what he understood then, is that besides following orders, he had done absolutely nothing of note. He was a no-name; an orc with no identity. It was with those thoughts in mind when one day a strange commotion seemed to hit Durnholde, where he was kept. As he strained to see more from his position, orcs with blazing eyes the likes of which he hadn't seen since the Wars burst in and freed him from his chains before moving on to liberate other prisoners. Confused but with a renewed sense of thrill, he picked up the closest metal pole to serve as makeshift weapon and followed them. What he encountered once he reached the main body of the keep was utter chaos. The orc prisoners were fighting back the human wardens, there were wolves and wolf riders, as well as numerous new faces and casters he had never seen before. He quickly joined the brawl with the help of the metal pole for several hours, before the hollering gathered at the tower, where the lord of Durnholde resided. There he saw an orc man descend from the tower, clad in the black and copper armor of the Warchief, except he was not him; and the murmurs turned to cheering. Aknug marveled. Finding courage and a reason to feel pride in this new 'Horde', if it could be called so, Aknug eagerly followed these orcs, whose leader -Thrall, as they called him, the man had been in trouble with the vicious watchers before- had been turned into the next Warchief in the following time. Stashing away the metal pole as a memento before picking back up an axe, he followed the new Warchief until they sailed into the open sea, for a supposed new land. To be continued--- Currently Farseer of the Horde After getting back from Oshu'gun in the company of the other two shaman-warlords from the extinct warband, Aknug finally felt something within his mind click into place. With no more reason to stay at Garadar for the moment being, he prepared to set out back to Azeroth. Garthak Thunderfist decided to head back to the main world as well. Unfortunately, with Mograh's hands badly burned by the demon's flame, his former apprentice couldn't follow; staying at Garadar would be better for his recovery. The two shamans gathered their possessions and wolves and set out together, passing uneventfully through Zangarmash into Hellfire where they were ambushed by fel orcs, escaping with minor wounds before reaching Thrallmar. After a day of riding and uneasily crossing the Dark Portal, the two decided in the safety of Dreadmaul Hold to travel back home; to Orgrimmar. It was there that their paths separated again. With Garthak deciding to relearn the path of the blade, Aknug sat back to think, before deciding to investigate further the cause of his former warband's ultimate failure. Yet, as Aknug went to the Valley of Wisdom for supplies, he realized that the flocking of the spirits whenever he talked to a Farseer didn't seem as large anymore in comparison to his own; his visits to Orgrimmar after its destruction in the Shattering having been sparse as they were. Sneaking inside Grommash Hold to speak to the elders, he was instead approached by a couple of shamans inside, until Aknug took the bait, demanding a place among the Farseers. With an Elder Farseer supervising him, Aknug was escorted into the Valley of Wisdom, where he was put through a ritual in order to verify if he was indeed attuned to the elements enough to merit the title. With the waters around them accepting him, the shaman was accepted into the rank of Farseer. Category:Horde Category:The Thunderfist Warband Category:Orc Category:Back story Category:Shaman Category:Far Seer